The present invention relates to a remote control apparatus having, for instance, a tablet type positional information input means.
Recently, in general, various sorts of setting operations as well as various adjusting operations for home-use, or for household electronic appliances such as personal computers and television receivers are carried out by the remote control apparatus while, for example, a menu screen is displayed on a display provided with the electronic appliances in an integral form, or separately provided with the electronic appliances. These setting/adjusting operations are performed by employing a remote control apparatus and the like in accordance with contents of this menu screen. Such an operation mode is so-called as a GUI (Graphical User Interface), since a user makes up an interactive communication with the electronic appliances via the above-described menu screen.
This GUI causes the display to display thereon a menu screen on which various sorts of setting/adjusting items are formed as, e.g., icons, and further arrow-shaped pointers for indicating these various sorts of setting/adjusting items. Then, the pointer is moved to the desirable icon by manipulating positional information input means (pointing device) such as a joy stick, and a remote control apparatus having an execution key such as a click key, and thereafter the execution key is clicked. As a result, the control corresponding to the selected icon is executed.
Also, as the positional information input device, for instance, a plane type tablet is known, which is used in combination with a keyboard of a portable type personal computer. This tablet functions to control a position of a pointer which is displayed on a display means based on relative positional information. In other words, the display position of the pointer is changed in response to, for example, the movement of a finger touched on the tablet.
On the other hand, since the GUI is introduced to manipulate the electronic appliances, the operation keys can be reduced, so that the operation unit in the remote control apparatus can be made simple. However, as to a portion of the various operations, it is preferable to provide the operation keys on the remote control apparatus due to frequencies of the operations and an importance of the operations.
In the operation by the GUI, the screen must be switched to display the above-described menu screen. Thus, in the case that a desirable operation is immediately executed, the above-described menu screen should be continuously displayed in a certain form. However, this menu screen will cover an image being displayed on the display. If a large number of the operation keys are provided on the side of a remote control apparatus, then the switch mechanism is required other than the pointing device. Accordingly, there is a problem that the structure becomes complex.
As a consequence, it is required that while a total number of operation keys is reduced, a remote controller is constituted by employing a pointing device.
However, in the case of the above-described tablet, this tablet is arranged in such a manner that, for instance, the pointer and the like are moved in response to the relative positional information, and thus, the pointer is moved only by the amount in response to the movement of the finger. In other words, the amount of movement by the pointer becomes constant within the display region in response to the input of the table.
As a consequence, in such a case that the present position of the pointer is separated from the desirable icon, the positional information must be inputted by largely moving finger and by the repeating the operation. The pointer must be improved with respect to operability. In other words, although the contents of the menu screen can be sufficiently provided by the GUI, it is not possible to achieve the optimum operation feelings in the design of the menu screen. Thus, this pointer operation itself would require cumbersome operations.